CITY GUIDE >Highlights
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CITY GUIDE >Highlights
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Riding sideways to success
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-10 17:58 "We try to show our customers parts of Shanghai that they have never seen even if they have been living here for years." "The sidecars were originally designed in the 1930s. And the 1930s are still very present in Shanghai. So it's like a time machine," says Chabrierers. "From a macro-perspective Shanghai is an ugly city, just a jungle of high buildings. But from a micro-perspective, this city is absolutely gorgeous and unique." It is obvious from Chabrierers' enthusiasm that discovering Shanghai is not only his job but also his passion. His tours range from visiting the famous and less famous markets of the city to inspecting the fast disappearing traditional Shanghainese neighborhoods as well as its most recent architectural attractions. Chabrierers is, nevertheless, open to ideas and if they are really good, he will invite you to a coke in the heights of the Hyatt hotel of the World Financial Center. Though he still playfully considers himself a laowai, his plans for the near future are definitely linked to China: "As long as China wants me and as long as I want China, I'll stay." Chabrierers is currently busy launching another branch called Sideways Escape which offers multi-day tours all over China, ranging from a weekend trip to Taihu Lake outside of Shanghai to a 10-day road trip covering 1,800 km from Xiamen over Mount Wuyi and several other spots, to Shanghai. Describing his recent years in Shanghai simply as "200km/h", he smiles and adds: "And I'm not talking about the speed of the bike!"
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